Best Budget & Cheap Fillet Knife Review and Buying Guide

We know that you have tried to cut a fish using a kitchen knife and it’s not a pretty thing for. Why do you spend a lot of time reeling a beautiful piece of fish? A fillet knife is a valuable thing for cleaning and filleting a fish because not only can a sharp blade slice through the bones and meat such as butter but it is also compact to fit in your kit. 

Here you will get a best budget fillet knife that will provide you the results you want. Millions of fillet knives are available in the market but the necessary thing is that you should not select any one blindly, you need to choose it carefully and this article will show the top best low prices and high quality fillet knives that are currently trending, we enable you through this content to choose one.

These fillet knives are not like your kitchen knives, while it has been approved by knife experts and our research team, the basic thing which separates it from other knives is their blades that are more reliable and lightweight and enable their users to easily operator surrounding the small bones in fish. 

Everyone wants to see several key features in a good fillet knife and here after the huge research work we have explained those knives which have sharp and long blades, thin and flexible body. By using these knives you can easily make the precise cuts in fillets of various textures and sizes. Lastly, we will also provide a buying guide for our audience that helps them to make a decision on selection of their favourite fillet knife.

Now I am going to discuss the best reasonably priced fillet knives. They have arrived with quality construction and have all those properties which make up a incredible fillet knife for beginners as well for professional people and we never compromise with quality and performance of the knives.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall Choice

Huntsman Outdoor Fillet Knife

Best Budget Choice

Shun Cutlery Classic Fillet Knife

37 FILLET KNIFES CONSIDERED

42 HOURS OF RESEARCH

8 FILLET KNIFE
SELECTED


Quick Overview at the Best Budget Fillet Knife

Huntsman Outdoor Fillet Knife

Pros

  • It comes with lockable sheath which enable user to carry it anywhere
  • Have a great versatility to do a variety of work like boning or filleting
  • Come with no slip grip for comfortable use and adequate control on it
  • Use stainless steel for their long live

Cons

  • Only use for smooth filleting but not have sharp razor blade

Huntsman outdoor fillet knife is budget friendly fillet knife which does not compromise with quality that uses 3cr13 stainless steel. Its premium material makes sure that it is excellent corrosion resistant and edge retention which enables users to sharpen the knife easily. It has a non-slip grip which prevents you from any mishap during the whole session of cutting. 

It provides lockable sheath and adequate control on the knife during the precise cutting which is pretty comfortable. The lockable sheath prevents the acute edges and helps you to carry it anywhere without any hesitation, the only thing you just have to do is pack it in your backpack and carry it for hunting, boating or camping.

Features:

  • Lockable Sheath
  • Outdoor Tested
  • Cutting Edge
  • Non Slip Grip
  • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
  • High Carbon Stainless Steel Blades For Sharpen Edge
  • Convenient
  • Durable

Final Suggestion:

This is my first knife. I have used it for ages because of its flexibility. However as I do more exotic fishing across the sea I require a bigger knife and in my opinion hungstun outdoor fillet knife is great and provides a non-slip grip, functional case but I was surprised that it still did a really amazing job of not being so flexible. I would like to recommend it to my users.

Bubba Blade Stiffe

Pros

  • Have a trigger grip handle
  • Big size knife with thin cut
  • Come with durable and rugged blade for large fish or event
  • Lightweight and flexible

Cons

  • Do not have blade flex
  • Not good for small fish

To start I just say that this is the king of fillet knives because it is the most used fillet knife ever and if you are looking for a knife to use in the bush, on the dock or outdoors then it is the choice for you. 

If you are talking about its physical appearance, it is 2mm thicker than their competitors which is its plus point and it does not have the same flex as other fillet knives have. Its handle has an activated gripp which gives an excellent grasp for wet hands.


But this is not comfortable for small games and favourable for field dressing a deer or cutting a big fish on the boats, we can say that this is good knife for big games where we need to do a lot of bone or shell cuts grip of handle and its thick blade makes the users job easy axds compared to the other fillet knives. 

The bubba blade has a savage look and pebbles which have highly incredible sharp edges for making thinner cuts such as a sushi knife. It is the perfect example for good balance in between strength and expertise as the best fillet knife.

Features:

  • German Stainless Steel – Its blade is made with high quality german stainless steel with great hardness. It has anti-corrosion and stain – resistant quality.
  • Super Sharp and Precise – The knife has double thin edges which allow easy and precise filleting, it can also penetrate the body of fish. While the narrow blade moves cleanly along with bones and cuts their skin also.
  • Comfortable Handle For Easy Grip – the design of handle and blade is so nice that you can achieve good balance grasp and secure enough with three silver rivets for great balance and protection.
  • Flexible and Lightweight – It is a professional fillet knife which has light weight and does not lie a strain on the wrist and allows you to fillet a fish like breeze.

Final Suggestion:

With my personal experience, I am greatly impressed with this knife because it is easy to adjust in hand and has a super sharp blade which bends the bone of the fish and comes with its own holder to store it away safely. Its main features are high quality products, perform the task over time and come with a good packaging box. These things attract me toward this fillet knife.

Rapala Fish Fillet Knife

Pros

  • Have affordable price
  • Come with high quality stainless steel
  • Lightweight and comfortable 
  • Come with leather laplander sheath
  • Have single stage sharpener

Cons

  • Have slippery wood handle
  • Leather sheath gets dirty

Rapala fillet knife is one of the best budget fillet knives which fulfils the all gold standard of reasonable fishing fillet knives. It comes with all necessary things that users want at a cheap price. It has a classic design which enables the users to clean the fish with more appropriate methods as compared to other fillet knives. 

Our research team has told us that from their birth date to today, around 100 millions knives have been sold. From this we can imagine how much it has demanded. It has been popular due to their progressively lessened, flexibility, stainless steel sharp blade and come with different blades that is good versatility. Its high quality steel has long live sharp edges and when times have come for sharpening it then it’s easy to do this. 

Now move to their handle, it has an outstanding wood handle which makes the knife comfortable and lightweight but when it gets wet then hand’s slippery occurs as compared to textured rubber. It also comes with a leather laplander sheath which provides protection to the blade and looks great but it’s not easy to clean as it stores oils, slime and surrounded dirt. 

It also has a single stage sharpener which is used with water when there is a need to touch up. I just want to tell you that if you are not good on a budget but you need a fully functionally fillet knife then rapala fish’n fillet knife is a good choice for you.

Key feature:

  • Perfect Boning Knife
  • Peak Performance
  • Ergonomic Design
  • Risk Free Design
  • Exquisite Pattern

Final Suggestion:

In this section, I would like to share my personal experience. I found this knife perfect for me due to their performance and good design. It has a narrow blade and tapered tip which allows me to fillet the meat and remove the fish bone easily. The rapala fish n fillet knife is highly sharp and smooth when we use it for cutting, it provides required results.

Also Read: https://knifeplatoon.com/how-to-sharpen-rapala-fillet-knife/

Its slightly curved and lightweight feature makes it very comfortable for users and they have good control over it. Being a chef I have no complaints about this knife and this is a nice gift for me. Highly recommended.

Shun Cutlery Classic Fillet Knife

Pros

  • Use premium quality stainless steel and craftsmanship
  • Unbelievable Sharp edges blade
  • Corrosion resistant blade
  • Good for large fish
  • Durable and comfortable 
  • strain resistance  
  • protecting food from sticking 

Cons

  • Come without sheath
  • Not a flexible

This is the best professional japanese style fillet knife which is most used by customers and the perfect combination of great western and japanese ideas. The shun classic fillet knife is smaller and harder knife as compared to other knives which offers their users to make good control while doing a fine cut and working with large fish and can also be used in wild games as well for other meat. 

If we talk about its performance, its curved and narrow blade is very sharp and can be used comfortably. It has great flexibility for skinning and boning and even hard enough for cutting the cartilage and some hard bone. It has a sharp cutting core blade which is durable and corrosion resistant and due to this reason it is honed by a razor-sharp edge. 

Also Read: https://knifeplatoon.com/how-to-sharpen-shun-knives/

The main features of this knife is its durability, strain resistance, protecting the food from sticking and look cool, besides the shorter length its blades is still good for large sweeping knife strokes which save many hours of users. The manufacturer has made the handle smooth that’s why it is a little bit slippery and it did not come with any sheath and due to this reason it is more convenient for using at home. If you are willing to use a quality steel knife then you should go with it.

Key Features:

  • Made in Japan
  • Completely made with ebony PakkaWood handle
  • VG_Max cutting core along with Damascus cladding

Final Suggestion:

His name “shun” shows that it is a japanese fillet knife which i bought for local and seasonal food specially when it is at the peak of their fresh taste. It has a sharp 6 inches blade which can easily glide the body of smooth skin of fish and also remove the skin. It also provides excellent handling during cutting. Due to being a bit harder than other knives it is a little bit challenging to use it for butchering but can easily be used at home. it is only used for fish boning, you can also use it for poultry deboning as well as other types of meat.

Wusthof Classic Fillet Knife

Pros

  • Comes with leather preventive sheath
  • Flexible
  • Durable and comfortable
  • Full tang knife
  • Have triple riveting on the handle
  • Provide precise cutting and decrease the fatigue

Cons

  • Does not fold for storage

The Wusthof Classic Fillet Knife is a high performance and flexible fillet knife which has a 7 inches long sharp blade. It is made up of stainless steel that is slightly curved and used for accurate cutting. Their handle is made with polyoxymethylene which is organised against the decolorization and fading. 

It has a triple engagement on the handle which allows their users to enhance the control over the knife while using a cutting for more accurate results. The high quality knife comes with strong leather sheath to provide protection to the blade as well for your prevention especially when you are on the water and not able to fold it for easy storage.

It has a partial booster which allows you to sharpen the whole blade, so that you can easily cut off the water thin slice of fishes without any effort.

Key Features:

  • Lightweight – 0.34 kg
  • Long, slim and flexible blade with straight cutting edges that is amazing for filleting and cleaning of meat
  • Have perfect design, technique and ergonomics
  • It is good for both professional chef and and non – professional people

Final Suggestion:

I have bought a wusthof filleting knife for my wife. She is a professional chef and she has a variety of knives during her job so I gave her this knife and she is very happy with the product quality. It is a little bit of a high budget knife as compared to other knives but it stays sharp for a long time and gives joy to use. It has an extremely well crafted handle that is combined with a flexible and durable blade which enables users for appropriate cutting. It is a good one time investment for professional people. Best Knife Ever !

Morakniv Fishing Comfort Fillet Knife

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Easy to hold
  • Sturdiness
  • Value for money
  • Comfortable and flexible
  • Stainless steel fillet knife with high friction and decoration

Cons

  • Have extra length handle which is not unmanageable for small hands

Using a fillet knife can be dangerous if their blade is not properly sharp and gets destroyed easily, it can also damage the meat. The Morakniv Fishing Comfort Fillet Knife is a highly flexible and intelligent tool that does not allow any adversity to occur while using it. It is made with Swedish stainless steel and its flat grind and great polish finishing is apperciateable for users. 

The decorated high friction grip provides a slip-free grip which is a golden thing in budget friendly blades. This blade has an extra length handle which is not unmanageable for small hands but on the other hand, it is the top best fillet knife that uses a high carbon steel blade and is built for big duty. So if you are using it in the kitchen or in the boat it will never disappoint you.

Key Features:

  • Super Sharpness and Precise
  • Swedish Stainless Steel 
  • Comfortable with non slippery handle
  • Flexible and Lightweight
  • 6.1 inches blade is enough versatile for almost all sizes of fish
  • Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel

Final Suggestion:

This is good to use in both places like the kitchen or boat when we are going for fishing. It helps me to make a nice slice of fish meat. It has great and good value for money and performed better than anything I previously used. I have always wanted such a type of knife that allows me to easily fillet the fish and remove their fats from meat and this knife has all required qualities that fulfil my requirements. Lovely knife to work with it.

Dalstrong Gladiator Series

Pros

  • Have a leather sheath
  • Ergonomically designed handle for comfortable grip
  • Blade is made up of high carbon steel 
  • Easy to maintain
  • Good in price

Cons

  • Blade is not flexible due to high carbon steel

Some people take fishing too seriously and they consider the best fillet knife with a unique design for this purpose. In “ Dalstrong Gladiator Series ” the word strong is named to show their durability because it is made with high carbon german stainless steel that provides outstanding strength on the sharp edges blade to use it for a long time. 

As it is 7 inches length and 1.5mm thickness is ideal for skimming and removing bones from large fishes. The easy to grip designed handle helps for accuracy and moveability. To provide extra protection, it comes with two leather sheaths. One of them provides prevention for outdoor adventure while the other one is used for storing it away in your drawer. 


The dalstrong knife is cheap in price as compared to other knives with great quality features. If you are good with your budget but you still want a good fillet knife at a cheap price then this is a good option for you and their sellers also offer a return policy if customers are not with it.

Key Features:

  • Outstanding cutting-edge technology
  • Brilliant craftsmanship
  • Stunning Design element
  • Incredible sharp razor
  • Award winning design
  • Imported high-carbon german steel with a hand polished edge at 16 – 18 degree

Final Suggestion:

I have been a fisherman all my life and use many various brands of knife but this knife is best of all of them due to their good performance in filleting and cheap in price. I use it daily on a daily basis but never lose its edges, it is a brilliant knife for me. It has been recommended to my audience due to their incredible value, well made, solid enough and has a nice balance.

Mercer Culinary Millennia

Pros

  • Made with santoprene rubble handle design.
  • Have extremely sharp blade
  • Use japanese stainless steel
  • Versatile
  • Comfortable
  • Incredible lightweight
  • Cheap in price

Cons

  • Do not provide sheath for maximum sharp blade

The thing that makes the mercer culinary millennia famous is their extremely sharp 8.5 inch razor that is made with high quality carbon based japanese stainless steel. The blade is professional in seamlessly slicing any fish, even the block of meat. 

The knife has a good grip handle which is made with polypropylene and santoprene for its durability and comfortness. It has slip resistant rough points that make sure that fingers can grip it firmly in dry and wet conditions for safety purposes. It plays an important role in fish cleaning, cutting bread, hard fruits and even chopping the foodstuffs, these make it a really handy tool in the kitchen as well as in the profession.

Key features:

  • Quality Construction
  • Superior Design
  • Best Use
  • Easy Care
  • Innovative Feature & Unparallel

Final Suggestion:

I purchased this knife on behalf of american kitchen reviews, following that i also saw it recommended by other sources as well and finally the feedback on amazon is amazing. Initially I bought it for slicing crusty homemade bread but after seeing their good performance I started cutting slices of fish and it performed very well. Its handle is very good and grippy and I like bread knives with handles that are similar to my previous knife that help me in my kitchen.

Buying Guide For Choosing the Best Budget Fillet Knife


Here we have provided the complete buying guide that users should know before going to buy a fish fillet knife. Make sure to select only those fillet knives which are suitable for your purpose.

Knife Handle:

The best fillet knives have great grip to protect yourself from too much effort. If you are thinking of buying it online then you do not have any opportunity to handle it physically but you can check that it has an ergonomic handle to provide maximum comfort. The fillet knife handle is made up of plastic, laminated and wood. 

The plastic handle is very light and easy to maintain and due to its fragile nature it is very easy to wear but the only bad thing about this handle is that it would easily damage due to fire or high temperature. While on the other hand the wood handle material is great and comfortable in feel but not good in durability and able to hide the bacteria easily. 

If we are talking about a laminate handle, it is a mixture of plastic and wood and looks more like plastic. It is very durable and easy to clean and highly recommended.

Length

The most important factor of fillet knives is their length that tells the user how much he can control the knife’s blade during cutting. The short blade gives precise detailed fine cuts because there is a shorter distance between the tip of blade and your wrist but it’s not good for big strokes. 

It gives the ability to their users to apply more energy into the cuts because of their rigidity. While the longer fillet knife is more flexible and is good for long strokes which provides good reach to make easy work on large fishes and allow us to cut on those places where we cannot reach easily.

  • 6 inch Blade: This is considered as a short blade that is mostly used for small and medium size fishes and provides accurate and precise cutting. This size is also good when you want to around the big bones of large fish.
  • 7 inch Blade: This is all in one blade that can be used on almost all types of fishes.
  • 8 to 9 plus inch Blade: Here is the best blade which is used to provide huge offers and greater strategies for filleting and breaking the large freshwater and saltwater fishes.

Also Read: https://knifeplatoon.com/best-4-inch-fillet-knife/

Flex and Thickness

A good fillet knife has a fine and virtuous flex and thick blade because it directly affects their performance rapidly. The flexible and thick blade drifts across and around the bones and gristle far better than hard blade but the stiff blade is great for cutting. The ductile blade bends with the natural shape of fish which leads to a well cleaning job and less loss of meat. 

The hard and thick fillet blade has a strong profile that allows us to apply more pressure and potential into the cuts but it’s less soft which means less forgiving. These aspects will help you to select the best fillet knife according to your requirements because they affect the performance of it.

Stiff and Thick

This is best for removing loins, deboning and cutting the serving size and it is also flexible at the tip of the knife. Above I already mentioned that this blade is good for cutting through and around the big bones and spinal cord for accurate trimming and cuts.

Medium Flexible and Thick

This is all rounder blader almost for all types of blade which deal with power and flexibility, it has a flex point at the mid of the knife.

Flexible and Thin

This type is good for filleting and skinning that bends with the natural shape of fish, drifts over bones and reduces the wastage of meat. This type did not allow us to exert more power into the knife and their flex point closer to the middle of the blade.

Price

The best fillet knives are not very expensive and you should not spend a lot of money to get grip on fillet knives. But if you move with some premium features then it will become at higher prices. Most of the fillet knives on the market are available under hundred dollars but some electric fillet knives have a little bit more cost.

Portability

The size, weight and body of a fillet knife depend upon what type of fishing you usually do. If we talk about beginners and anglers who travel a lot to fish then you should move with a lightweight option with protected sheath while electric or high quality fillet knife is good for use at home. The availability of electricity near the place where you do fishing is a very awesome thing and electric fillet is the best option for yourself in that place.

Conclusion

In this advanced era, the home kitchen or tackle box cannot be completed without a fillet knife and all of them want to find the best fillet knife which is good in quality and budget. But a variety of fillet knives having different length, flex and style are available for different jobs that are made with handcraft stainless steel. 

If we talk about feeding yourself or your loved one then it is important to select the best tool for this purpose. The best fillet knives have some common properties like durability, sharpness, easy to sharpen, affordable price and have good grip on the handle. After our team research, in the above section we have deeply described the affordable fillet knives that are trending in the current market and you don’t need to go anywhere in search of fillet knives. 

Now you can easily choose the best budget fillet knife which fulfils your requirements. Thank you.


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